Invest in aquaculture

There are many opportunities to invest in Queensland aquaculture.

While global harvest of wild-caught seafood is not expected to increase, the demand for seafood continues to rise with the increase in world population and wealth.

Over the past decade, aquaculture has been Queensland's fastest growing primary industry and it continues to show significant potential for expansion, particularly in regional areas.

The industry’s clean, green and safe reputation is a definite advantage in local and international markets. The industry works hard, in partnership with state and federal governments, to maintain its existing high operational standards and environmental responsibility.

Queensland’s unique location provides access to:

• a range of climates suitable for culturing a wide variety of species, including temperate and tropical species
• a significant proportion of relatively shallow and reasonably sheltered coastal areas with clean, unpolluted water that could support a range of marine aquaculture systems using existing engineering and management techniques
• extensive coastal areas identified as being suitable for land-based marine aquaculture
• freedom from many of the serious diseases affecting aquaculture in other countries
• opportunities for inland freshwater aquaculture
• substantial research and development expertise in the fields of aquaculture, marine science, marine engineering and biotechnology
• the greatest capacity for regional services in Australia, with major towns along most of the coastline
• highly developed transport infrastructure in the major population centres
• proximity to major seafood markets in the Asia-Pacific region and well-positioned to access other global markets.

Aquaculture development areas

Land-based marine aquaculture development areas have been identified to help protect areas with the potential for development. They are located in coastal areas where marine species can be cultivated in earthen ponds that require access to seawater.

Find out more about investment opportunities and assistance for investors.

Industry performance

The prawn farming sector is the largest aquaculture sector in Queensland, accounting for more than 74% of aquaculture production value. The barramundi sector comes in second at 21%. Other major farmed species include silver and jade perch, Murray cod, and redclaw crayfish.

Find out more about production volume, value and efficiency in the industry performance annual reports .

Contact us

If you want to invest in Queensland aquaculture, call 13 25 23.